Dog Vitamins & Mineral Supplements

Should I give my dog a vitamin and mineral supplement? Depends on how you feed him; in case of a homemade dog food it could be recommendable. However, vitamins and minerals are in use, which produces not deficiencies symptoms, but an over use of these chemical substances. In this case it's not true that if some is good, a lot must be better. Follow the indications on the package. Young dogs, when growing, are exposed to an excessive supplement, and big breeds are the more sensible, because, generally, their growing is slower than that of small breeds, and some disturbances can appear in the growing of their bones, and other symptoms like weakness. With a balanced diet, there is no need for supplements, though under some circumstances they could be beneficiary. For instance, a dog with renal problems may need a vitamin B supplement, because excessive levels of this group of vitamins are lost. It is said that one out of a thousand dogs is not able to produce his own vitamin C, therefore an specific supplement will be necessary to prevent scurvy while growing. This can be solved adding a tablet to his food (one gram for a 25 kilogram dog). This vitamin deteriorates quickly. An insufficiency of vitamin D is not frequent, cause this one is produced by the sunlight over the dog's hair. It's stored in the liver along with the so called liposoluble vitamins A, E and K. There are specific cases where a vitamin K insufficiency may appear as a result of an intoxication, or an excessive antibiotic treatment.

Dog Food Guide